Sam Monaghan
Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan has been ruled out of the team to play France in Saturday’s Women’s Six Nations opener in Le Mans, while Béibhinn Parsons will make her first championship start in nearly three years after head coach Scott Bemand named his team today.
An IRFU statement said Monaghan’s absence is because she is “continuing her return to play protocols”.
The loss of Monaghan is a big blow to the team, and with the international retirement of lock Nichola Fryday last year, it means Ireland start this tournament with a new-look second row combination.
Dorothy Wall switches from her usual position in the back row to second row, with Hannah O’Connor – who was originally named in the squad as a “training panellist” – starting alongside Wall.
The return of Parsons to the team is a massive boost for Ireland. Parsons hasn’t started a Six Nations game for Ireland since the win over Italy in Dublin in April 2021. She made three appearances off the bench in the 2022 Six Nations and was solely tied to the sevens team for last year’s Six Nations as they ensured qualification for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Parsons was part of the Ireland team at last October’s WXV3 competition along with fellow sevens players Eve Higgins and Aoibheann Reilly, who will start in the centre and at scrum-half, respectively, for Ireland on Saturday.
Higgins scored the only try for Ireland two years ago in Toulouse when they were beaten 40-5 in Toulouse.
Connacht out-half Nicole Fowley has been named at 10 in her first Six Nations start since March 2019. She replaced Dannah O’Brien in Ireland’s win over Kazakhstan in their WXV3 game last October.
O’Brien, who started all three of those WXV3 games and four of the five Six Nations games last year, suffered an ankle injury in a Celtic Challenge game in January and has been named on the bench.
There is one uncapped player in the Ireland team – 18-year-old winger Katie Corrigan impressed for the Wolfhounds in the Celtic Challenge and her form has been rewarded with a place on the right wing.
Ireland team (v France): L Delany; K Corrigan, E Higgins, A Dalton, B Parsons; N Fowley, A Reilly; L Djougang, N Jones, C Haney; D Wall, H O’Connor; A Wafer, E McMahon (capt), B Hogan. Replacements: S Delaney, N O’Dowd, S McGrath, F Tuite, G Moore, M Scuffil-McCabe, D O’Brien, M Deely.